The present invention relates to draw-out containers capable of drawing out rod-shaped contents such as rouge, lip cream or paste and, more particularly, to a draw-out container in which a content draw-out mechanism is formed into a multi-stage joint structure.
Conventionally, a draw-out container in which a rod-shaped content draw-out mechanism is formed into a multi-stage joint structure is described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication 61-1089. This container, as shown in FIG. 1, which is a half sectional view of a drawn-in state, and FIG. 2, which is a half sectional view of a drawn-out state, comprises a shell cylinder 1, a cap 2 removably fitted to a fore end of the shell cylinder (FIG. 2 shows a state in which the cap has been removed), a rotation operating cylinder 3 rotatably coupled to a rear end of the shell cylinder 1, a relay cylinder 4 which is screwed to a rear-end inner circumferential surface of the shell cylinder 1 and which is inhibited from rotating relative to the rotation operating cylinder 3 but allowed to advance and retreat in the axial direction, and a push-out rod member 5 which is screwed in the counter-threaded direction to an inner circumferential surface of the relay cylinder 4 and which is inhibited from rotating relative to the shell cylinder 1 but allowed to advance and retreat in the axial direction, where a receiver 5a of a fore end of the push-out rod member 5 is holding a rear end of a rod-shaped content 6.
In this constitution, when the rotation operating cylinder 3 is rotated in a draw-out direction at any position other than a draw-out end (the state of FIG. 2 in which the rod-shaped content 6 has been drawn out to the most), the relay cylinder 4 is advanced relative to the rotation operating cylinder 3, while the push-out rod member 5 is advanced relative to the relay cylinder 4, by which the rod-shaped content 6 is drawn out. Also, when the rotation operating cylinder 3 is rotated in the reverse direction at any position other than a draw-in end (the state of FIG. 1 in which the rod-shaped content 6 has been drawn in to the most), the rod-shaped content 6 is drawn in by reversely directed movement of the relay cylinder 4 and the push-out rod member 5.
In this container, the relay cylinder 4 and the push-out rod member 5 are provided to serve as screws, and a rotational motion of the rotation operating cylinder 3 is transformed into a straight advancement motion of the rod-shaped content 6 by using the screws. Therefore, there has been a possibility that the content may move improvidently if the screws are loosened due to vibrations during transport or carriage. Besides, because of indefinite limits of rotational operation, there has been a further possibility that the screws may be damaged by excessively rotating the rotation operating cylinder 3 during the operation.
Therefore, a technical issue to be solved by the present invention is to provide a rod-shaped content draw-out container having a draw-out mechanism of a multi-stage joint structure in which the screws are inhibited from improvidently rotating, and in which a user is enabled to easily recognize the limits of operation.
According to the present invention, there is provided a rod-shaped content draw-out container comprising: a shell cylinder having a screwer in an inner circumferential surface of a rear end; a rotation operating cylinder rotatably coupled to the rear end of the shell cylinder; a relay cylinder which has an outside screw to be screwed to the screwer of the shell cylinder and which is inhibited from rotating relative to the rotation operating cylinder but allowed to advance and retreat axially, and further which has a screwer formed in an inner circumferential surface; a push-out rod member which has an outside screw to be screwed to the screwer of the relay cylinder and which is inhibited from rotating relative to the shell cylinder but allowed to advance and retreat axially, and further which has, at its fore end portion, a receiver for holding a rear end of a rod-shaped content, wherein the outside screw of the relay cylinder and the outside screw of the push-out rod member are threaded reverse to each other. In order to solve the aforementioned technical issue, the rod-shaped content draw-out container is characterized by having the following constitution:
That is, a pair of first stoppers to be engaged each other at a draw-in end are formed in the inner circumferential surface of the relay cylinder and an outer circumferential surface of the push-out rod member, the first stoppers comprising one protrusion and another protrusion which go axially beyond each other at a positional change from a position just before the draw-in end to the draw-in end, or a protrusion and a recessed portion which are fitted to each other at the positional change. Also, a pair of second stoppers to be engaged at a draw-out end are formed in the inner circumferential surface of the shell cylinder and an outer circumferential surface of the relay cylinder, the second stoppers comprising one protrusion and another protrusion which go axially beyond each other at a positional change from a position just before the draw-out end to the draw-out end, or a protrusion and a recessed portion which are fitted to each other at the positional change. The screwers may be formed as inside screws along the screwing direction of the outside screws, or as mere protrusions, respectively.
With this constitution, at the draw-in end and the draw-out end, loosening of the screws can be prevented by the first stoppers and the second stoppers, respectively. Therefore, the content can be prevented from improvidently moving within the container due to vibrations during transport or carriage. Also, in a change from the position just before the draw-out end to the draw-out end, as well as in a change from the position just before the draw-in end to the draw-in end, a clicking feeling is obtained by one protrusion and another protrusion, or a protrusion and a recessed portion, formed as the two stopper means, thus allowing the user to easily recognize the limits of operation. As a result, damage of the screws due to excessive rotation of the rotation operating cylinder 13 during the operation can be prevented.
Further, it is also possible that the relay cylinder has a fore end face to be opposed to a lower face of the receiver at a draw-in end position, and a flange to be opposed to a lower face of the shell cylinder at a draw-out position, where a pair of first stoppers may be formed in the fore end face of the relay cylinder and the lower face of the receiver of the push-out rod member as one protrusion and another protrusion which go beyond each other in a rotational direction at a positional change from a position just before the draw-in end to the draw-in end, or as a protrusion and a recessed portion which are fitted to each other at the positional change, and where a pair of second stopper may be formed in the lower face of the shell cylinder and an upper face of the flange of the relay cylinder, as one protrusion and another protrusion which go beyond each other in the rotational direction at a positional change from a position just before the draw-out end to the draw-out end, or as a protrusion and a recessed portion which are fitted to each other at the positional change.
Furthermore, the pair of first stoppers and the pair of second stoppers may be formed as a combination of one protrusion and another protrusion, or a protrusion and a recessed portion, which are fitted to each other by a positional change in the axial direction, and one protrusion and another protrusion, or a protrusion and a recessed portion, which are fitted to each other by a positional change in the rotational direction. More specifically, the first stoppers may comprise one protrusion and another protrusion, or a protrusion and a recessed portion, which are fitted to each other by a positional change in the axial direction, while the second stopper may comprise one protrusion and another protrusion, or a protrusion and a recessed portion, which are fitted to each other by a positional change in the rotational direction and, conversely, the first stoppers may comprise one protrusion and another protrusion, or a protrusion and a recessed portion, which are fitted to each other by a positional change in the rotational direction, while the second stoppers may comprise one protrusion and another protrusion, or a protrusion and a recessed portion, which are fitted to each other by a positional change in the axial direction.
With any one of these constitutions, since the screws do not loosen at the draw-in end and the draw-out end, the content can be prevented from improvidently moving due to vibrations during transport or carriage. Also, since the user can easily recognize the limits of operation, damage of the screws due to excessive rotation of the rotation operating cylinder can be prevented.